Budget 2023-2024 and the Social Relief of Distress Grant

The Institute for Economic Justice (IEJ) warns that the 2023-2024 Budget may roll back social grants, potentially contradicting the President's commitment to make the Social Relief of Distress (SRD) grant permanent as a basis for a Universal Basic Income. The IEJ argues that National Treasury has used exclusionary regulations and a low means test to artificially reduce beneficiary numbers, which in turn has been used to justify funding cuts.

• The President has committed to making the Social Relief of Distress (SRD) grant permanent, intending for it to serve as an "income floor below which no one must fall" and a foundation for a system of basic income.
• The IEJ reports a significant decline in grant approvals, noting that while 10.9 million people received the grant in March 2022, only 7.5 million applications were approved by January 2023, with over 6 million applications denied in that month alone.
• Draft amendments to the SRD grant regulations freeze the grant value at R350, which the IEJ claims violates the President's commitment to adjust grants for inflation; the real value of the grant is projected to drop by 20% by 2024.
• The IEJ identifies several systemic barriers to accessing the grant, including an "excessively low" means test of R624 and an intrusive online application process that excludes people receiving small amounts of family help or once-off payments.
• Despite approvals, a significant payment gap exists; SASSA reported to Parliament that approximately 1.3 million people per month with approved applications had not been paid over a three-month period.

APA

Institute for Economic Justice (2023). Budget 2023-2024 and the Social Relief of Distress Grant. https://iej.org.za/press-room/statements/budget-2023-2024-and-the-social-relief-of-distress-grant/

Chicago

Institute for Economic Justice. Budget 2023-2024 and the Social Relief of Distress Grant. 2023. https://iej.org.za/press-room/statements/budget-2023-2024-and-the-social-relief-of-distress-grant/.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |author=Institute for Economic Justice |title=Budget 2023-2024 and the Social Relief of Distress Grant |date=20 February 2023 |url=https://iej.org.za/press-room/statements/budget-2023-2024-and-the-social-relief-of-distress-grant/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{instituteforeconomicjustice2023budget, author = {{Institute for Economic Justice}}, title = {{Budget 2023-2024 and the Social Relief of Distress Grant}}, publisher = {Institute for Economic Justice}, year = {2023}, month = feb, url = {https://iej.org.za/press-room/statements/budget-2023-2024-and-the-social-relief-of-distress-grant/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }